Oil Suggestions, 2 Town and Country's

[Troy_L]

I am trying to find a common oil that i can use for both of my Chrysler vans.

2008 Town and Country 4.0L (book says 10w30 preferred all weather)
2003 Town and country 3.8L (book says 5w30 preferred, 10w30 down to 0F)

I have done some searching on these forums and others and still cant find an answer, I love rotella T, thats all iI ever used in my big rig when i drove, and now i see all this talk about Rotella's Synthetic. I originally wanted to go with t6 5w40 but am very worried about the 08 4.0l which has some engine warranty left so then i looked into t5 which has an excellent cold pour point so now what I gues im asking is if either the t6 or t5 would be an all year long oil for both the vehicles listed, also what oil and air filter could you suggest, I am currently using WIX for both. I dont intend to use any extended OCI, just normal maintenance schedule. Thank you all for your time and if this has been asked i apologize deeply.

Thank you
Troy_L

 

[Hokiefyd]

Hi Troy, and welcome to BITOG.

I had an '03 Dodge Grand Caravan once and used 10W-30 in it once and it noticeably labored to crank when fairly cold outside (say 20*F or below). Seeing that you're in Minnesota, I'd think that you'd not care for the 10W-30 in that engine.

Honestly, I'd run Mobil 1's 0W-30 in both. It will provide far superior cold-cranking performance, and will provide excellent hot weather performance, being a 30 grade when warm.

 

[Hyde244]

My family had a 2001 Town and Country, which we ran for 280,000 miles. For its entire life, we used regular dino 5w30, and eventually switch over to MC 5w30 around 150,000 miles. Engine ran fantastic the entire time, and oil consumption was minimal.

Use the 5w30.

 

[Troy_L]

Thank you so much Jason and hyde244 for the advice, in the 2003 I have ran Mobil clean 5w30 all it's life, it is now at 150000 miles, and the 2008 is new to me and has me confused why the book says nothing but 10w30. Do you think the rotella t6 5w40 would be ok for both, I really don't want to use Mobil 1, I don't have any particular reason I guess it could be an excellent oil? I also forgot to mention that here where I live we can get a week or two at below zero temps, so 5w30 would be my choice but have a hard time understanding the 2008 4.0l suggestion of 10w30

 

[Hokiefyd]

Chrysler has never come off the recommendation for 10W-30 in the 3.5L and 4.0L engines, at least to my knowledge. I believe they recommend 10W-30 for this reason:

Most consumers will use conventional oil, rather than synthetic, even if they specified synthetic in the owner's manual. In general a conventional 10W-30 is more shear-stable than a 5W-30. That is, a 5W-30 will generally experience more shear under the same conditions compared with a 10W-30. This is not an absolute, but is often the case. Chrysler apparently wants a rather shear-stable oil in the 3.5L and 4.0L engines; they specify 5W-20 (or even 5W-30) in most of their other engines, but this one sticks out like a sore thumb as requiring 10W-30. Something about that engine must beat up the oil pretty good.

The above doesn't apply quite as much when considering synthetic oil (which is why I recommended Mobil 1's 0W-30). It's generally not as prone to shearing and will offer superior cold-start pumpability. Would Chrysler have recommended a 0W- or 5W-30 if they also recommended synthetic oil? We can only guess at that, but I do believe the only reason they recommended the 10W-30 is because it's the more shear-stable grade in conventional oil. If you don't care for Mobil 1 products, Castrol offers a 0W-30 that is relatively easy to find in the United States.

Rotella T6 5W-40 should be fine for both. I know someone with a '98 Grand Caravan who ran it on Mobil 1 0W-40 for its entire life. I'd prefer a 30 grade in both, though; either of the 0W-30s would be better suited than a 40 grade, at least in my opinion.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I don't think it'd make a huge difference, but personally, I wouldn't want to run 10w-30 in such a cold climate!

 

[skyship]

If these cars have a high oil consumption, then use a major brand HM 5/40, if not then use a major brand 5/30. If you don't push the OCI boundaries just find a special offer, if you do then go look at a full synthetic 0 or 5/30 that is on special offer from Castrol, Mobil, Shell or if you get lucky Liqui Moly. Check the oil finder page of their web site to confirm the oil you are looking at is a recommended one.

 

[tiger862]

Ok Troy here is the deal. You have warranty left and you live in Minnesota. Stay with 0w30 for both. Cold weather so flow is important. Both those recommend 30 wt. oil and Rotella is 40 wt. which is not a big difference but a difference none the less. While Rotella is a good oil it doesn't pass specs for that engine. Only spec I can find is CJ4 which is diesel approved so that makes 2 strikes against it. 1. Wrong spec 2. Diesel approved. Just an opinion.

 

[440Magnum]

Both those engines are very bulletproof and very simple- no variable valve timing or anything like that, so they're pretty viscosity tolerant. The 4.0 is a close cousin of the 3.5, and my wife and I put 260,000 trouble-free miles on a first-generation 3.5. Just change the timing belt when you're supposed to. 5w40 should be OK in either one, or you could consider M1 0w40 for your Minnesota winters (although you should know that Rotella is bringing out a T6 0w40 as well).

How you like that 4.0? Until the Pentastar came out, was one of the quicker minivan powerplants out there. I had one in a rental Pacifica one time and was pleasantly surprised by the power available.

 

[NHGUY]

I've gone from 10w30 to 5w30 PU in a 3.3,no difference in running or mileage.Always starts excellent in the cold.

 

[Troy_L]

Wow, maybe i shouldn't have asked , now my head is spinning. 440magnum, I love the engine so far, power is amazing and my wife can attest to that, she loves the throttle

. I think the consensus is 0w30 seems to be the all around engine oil for both vehicles, I just want to simplify the buying of it. The 2008 4.0l had synthetic oil in it when I purchased and I wa always led to believe once you have used synthetic not to go back to Dino. Dino would be my first choice for all oil, I have a hard time believing synthetic is any better. I guess now the question would be what brand, I've seen a suggestion for castrol, and a few for Mobil 1. I just want to keep the engines as clean as I can. From what I also understand the 0w30 would not void the warranty on the 2008, am I correct?

Thank you all for your help and suggestions, I will us all of your advice to help me decide and more is very welcome! I also forgot to mention I have a JD425 garden tractor that needs oil too

 

[KCJeep]

Or you can split the difference and run a 10w30 with unusually high VI (for a 10w30). Motorcraft and Trop Artic 10w30's are good examples of this.

 

[440Magnum]

Well, the myth about "can't go back to dino" from synthetic is just that- a myth. Oil is hydrocarbons, whether its synthetic or not is just a definition of how the hydrocarbons are refined and unified to be consistent and predictable. And with modern refining methods, the old definition of synthetic as being strictly synthesized from natural gas or other simple hydrocarbon feedstock isn't even that clear anymore.

BUT, if you go 0w30, you're pretty much tied to a largely synthetic base stock oil. That's the best way to achieve a good 0w30 oil.

 

[Troy_L]

Now I am more undecided than I ever was, I think I am going to ask straight out for opinions of what I should use in both vehicles, oil brand, weight and brand of filters. Like I stated before it will be the recommended oci's and really doesn't matter to me Dino or synthetic. I would like to use the same brand for both vehicles. Winter time the temp will drop to sub zero at times, summer can reach 100f but usually stays around 80-90f


2008 town and country 4.0l (book states only 10w30)

2003 town and country 3.8l (book prefers 5w30 year round)

I kinda would like to treat this like a poll, and this seems like the forum to do so, you guys have been great and have the knowledge to suggest a superior oil.

Thank you all for your suggestions,

Troy

 

[Danno]

Both out of warranty - go with PYB 5W30 at 5,000 miles or PP 5W30 at 7,500 miles with good filters and sleep easy at night.

 

[fdcg27]

Okay.
I think Hokiefyd offered a good explaination of why Chrysler specs a 10W-30 for the 4.0.
I'd use M1 0W-30, PP 5W-30 or QSUD 5W-30 in both vans.
Any of these oils should be shear stable enough that the use of a 5W-30 instead of a 10W-30 shouldn't be a problem.
You could search the UOA forum for UOAs from Chrysler 3.5 and 4.0 V-6s, just to see how much the oils used sheared in this application.
I'd agree that a 10W-30 seems thicker than optimal on cold starts, especially for winter where you live.

 

[electrolover]

I would go with Motorcraft 5/30 or Trop Artic 5/30 in both for a lower priced high quality oil with good cold flow.

If price is not an issue Mobil 1 AFE 0/30 or another high quality sythetic 0/30

Mobil 0/40 if you just have to have a 40grade. It has better cold flow than many thinner oils.

Dont run a 10/30. At operating temp its the same as 5/30 or 0/30, it just doesn't have as low of pour point. Todays oils are a lot more stable so there is no need in worry about the wider spread of a 5/30...especially in your climate.

 

[GSCJR]

Conventional 5w-30 in both and be done with it. KIS

 

[askani79705]

Nextgen Maxlife 5w30 is cheap and should hold up just fine.

 

[440Magnum]

My vote would be Mobil 1 0w30 AFE for both.